


CIRCULATION

by InuokaSoap



Series: BODY [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Idols, Friendship, Gen, HQBB 2018, Idols, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-02 18:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16792564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InuokaSoap/pseuds/InuokaSoap
Summary: "As the lights flash and the music pounds and his feet carve the rhythm that his voice wraps around... Sou wonders if it's possible to ever come down from feeling like this."For HQBB 2018





	1. TRACK 1: ＮＥＲＶＯＵＳ🗲ＴＲＩＧＧＥＲ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for clicking on this thing. This is my contribution to the HQBB! I've had such a nightmare getting this done thanks to uni deadlines, so I'm sorry if this is rushed, but i really hope it turns out okay because I've had this universe in my head for over a year now and it's so nice to finally have the motivation to write it! Also, thank you so much to the wonderful artist I had the privilege of working with, Biancchi! (@seungbooz on twitter and tumblr!)

_Abe, Akita, Akiyama..._

Sou tries to shrink back in his seat as much as humanly possible. He watches people go up one by one. He watches their faces praying for a smile, a sign that the marking has been lenient this time. It isn’t like he needs to pass this test, but Sou thinks that it would be nice to not be a disappointment.

_Fukui, Hayashi, Hinata…_

Sou bites his lip, his leg bouncing under the desk. He can feel the irritated glances his classmates shoot him. He carries on regardless. He doesn’t realise how many people have gone up, he almost misses Hinata’s turn. Hinata is normally a good marker for how likely Sou is to pass. They tend to get similar marks in things like this and Hinata is very, _very_ expressive. He shows everything on his face, and it makes you feel it too. Sou thinks that he could be an idol, if he wanted.

He sees Hinata get his result and nearly pass out from horror. This can't be good. Sou tastes blood in his mouth.

_Honda, Ikeda, Inuoka._

Sou takes a breath, braces himself and with leaden legs he makes his way to where his professor stands. Sou is a good twenty centimetres taller than him, but he still looms over Sou’s head as he hands back his paper. Inuoka doesn't dare to look down, not yet. Not until he's made his way back to his seat. He turns to leave when the professor stops him.  
“Inuoka.” His voice is calm and controlled, his eyes are icy. Sou realises that here is the best place to bid farewell to his hopes and dreams.  
“Y-yes?” Someone on the front row laughs. Sou can’t tell if it’s from ridicule or solidarity.  
“I have been made aware that you’re trying to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Is that correct?”  
Sou gulps, he feels like if he doesn't his heart will shoot right out of his mouth. “Yes, sir!”  
The professor continues, eyes narrowed. “I saw your little show the other day, and I have stumbled upon your online activity. I must admit I was fairly impressed. You're fairly talented.”  
Sou’s face lights up. If what he and Yuuki are doing has made its way to his crusty old college professor then it must be spreading to a lot of people! “Thank you, sir!” He fully detects a 'but', however he'll take a nice comment where he can get one.  
“But,” the professor taps the top of Sou's paper where he know the dreaded number will be. How low is it? 30? 20? Surely with all the work he's put in it can't be lower than 20! Sou looks the professor straight in the eyes. He really wishes he hadn't, and now he's too scared to look away. He's taking far too long to finish his sentence.  
"B-but?"  
The professor finally looks away to grab the next few papers, but Sou can still feel his glare in his voice. “Maybe you should think about a sensible future, and spend more time focusing on what’s actually achievable.”

The professor calls out the next three names and Sou walks back to his seat. It’s only once he’s taken his seat that he looks down. He sees the number 18 and he swears he can feel his heart break.

* * *

Sou decides to walk home through the park. It takes a few minutes more but seeing people with their dogs, and families with children running around with screams of joy, and the frost-kissed leaves on the ground; it sparks joy in his heart. He hears music wind its way through the setting sun’s rays and it makes the last of the falling leaves dance. A lot of people always told Sou not to believe in magic. Things like this make Sou glad he only heard the person who told him it did. A smooth voice glides with the breeze and whilst the air is cold and the day's been colder Sou feels warm.

In the centre of the park is a huge arrangement of flowers. They grow all year round, even through the cold. A man stands just in front of them, playing the guitar and singing for ears that weren't listening. There's nobody around, besides the two of them, yet he performs like there's a million people watching. The song is slow, it feels classic yet timeless. His face has an air of tranquillity and Sou finds himself trapped in a magnetic field, pulled closer without thinking about it. The melody weaves a basket around Sou’s heart and it holds and guides and nurtures him. Sou has no idea how this man isn’t famous already.

The performer finishes his song and Sou applauds him before he can even think. He rummages in his pocket for change as he walks up to the man.  
“That was incredible.” He comes up with 800 yen and puts it in the man’s guitar case. It’s only then that he sees a card with his name: Kai Nobuyuki. “Thank you for your performance! Do you have a CD? Can I buy one?!”  
The man - Kai - smiles. His smile makes Sou think of honey.

* * *

By the time Sou gets back to his dorm it’s already dark. A rush of warmth kisses his ears, his nose, any inch of his skin the air outside had bitten. He carefully sets Kai’s CD with his collection. Sou had talked to Kai for quite some time. He'd found out that as well as having his incredible voice Kai plays six different instruments, that he loves jazz and swing and experimenting with what works and what doesn't. He'd found that Kai wishes he could dance better, and he has an audition coming up, and as the CD takes up the last bit of space on the shelf, Sou hopes and prays that Kai one day gets the recognition he deserves. Sou puts the kettle on to boil before fishing a cup noodle from the cupboard. He takes a seat on the floor, gangly legs crossed in a fashion that would be uncomfortable for almost anyone else.

He’s been told that the way he sits is strange, and sometimes even scolded for it. Yuuki hasn’t scolded him - not once. After all, Yuuki would always say, "they don't sit like you but they can't dance like you. You're one of a kind!"

Sou turns on the TV. It’s the 6 o’clock news. He panics a little; ROYALS, Yuuki’s favourite group, are supposed to be performing live on a talk show at 7 and Yuuki still isn’t home. Yuuki’s part-time job makes life difficult. He’s always busy with something; college, work, trying to write something, trying to find a slot in the busking spots at the park or on the street or at an open mic night to perform.

Shibayama Yuuki dreams of becoming an idol. It’s because of him that Sou does too. He gets a sparkle in his eye when he performs, and his smile is infectious. He works so hard that it makes you want to work hard too. Sou worries that sometimes he works too hard. He really wants to get a job and help out, but this 18 means he’ll probably be in support classes in his spare time and his heart sinks to his stomach yet again. Sou checks his phone. It’s 6:45 and Yuuki hasn’t texted him. Trying not to worry, his eyes shift to the picture on his lockscreen; it always calms him down. It’s the two of them right before the ROYALS concert they went to just before college started. Yuuki looks so happy, and Sou is convinced that his smile supplies half of the light of the screen. Sou rarely sees Yuuki smile like that anymore, not with all the stress. Sou realises that Yuuki still hasn't texted. 

The talk show jingle chimes just as Yuuki bursts through the door, out of breath with tears streaming down his flushed cheeks. His hair is disheveled; he’s been running for a while. This isn’t right. Yuuki’s always tidy. Sou shoots up and rushes over to him, laying gentle hands on his shoulders.    
“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Was it work?” He takes Yuuki’s coat and bag and hangs them up as quickly as possible, not wanting to leave Yuuki on his own, before rushing back to grab Yuuki’s hand and pull him to the sofa. Yuuki stops him.    
“Sou… It’s happened...” His voice shakes, it’s barely above a whisper. Sou recognises this voice instantly, even though he’s only heard it once before. He hears the first word and he’s in the front row at that ROYALS concert. Yuuki shows Sou an email. His eyes glance over the words and widen with every single one. He can’t believe what he’s seeing, and he’s pretty sure that it’s a joke. Finally he sees the name on the bottom.    
_ Nekomata Yasufumi - President, Nekoma Productions.  _   
“You don’t mean… Yuuki… Is this real?” Yuuki takes Sou’s hands in his and Sou feels like he’s standing on clouds. This isn’t real. This can’t be real. He looks Yuuki in the eyes, and finally sees the joy behind his tears. It’s real. It’s actually happening.    
“We’ve been scouted.”


	2. TRACK 2: 静穏

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had brooklyn 99 on in the background as i was writing this and i thought it would be funny and i am also very self-indulgent.

Sou isn’t scared of a lot of things, but standing in front of the door of Nekoma Productions’ office makes him feel a little dizzy. His hands are clammy and his mouth is dry. Yuuki puts a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down, but Sou can feel him shaking too. This is everything the two of them have dreamed of since primary school. Together the two of them open the door and walk inside. Inside the foyer are seven other men, all around the same age as them. Each one has a completely unique appearance, and whilst they seem fairly modest Sou can feel that he’s around performers. One of them notices them and walks over. Sou immediately knows his face.    
“Kai-san! You got scouted! Yuuki, this is Kai-san! He’s the amazing singer I told you about a couple of weeks ago! Kai-san, this is Yuuki! He’s my partner in crime, if you will! We’ve been performing together since we’re kids, and the president found our YouTube channel and decided to scout us!!”   
Kai gives them his honey-like smile again. “It’s good to see you again, Inuoka-kun. And a pleasure to meet you…” he looks down at Yuuki and holds his hand out for him to shake. Sou realises that Yuuki isn’t Yuuki to everyone… He can’t help himself!   
“Shibayama.” Yuuki shakes his hand, and Sou can tell that he’s still shaking a little. Kai can obviously tell too, as he turns his head to the rest of the group who somehow haven’t noticed them yet, before turning back to them.   
“They’re an odd bunch, aren’t they.” He chuckles. “I’m sure this is going to be a good group.”   
Just as he finishes speaking, a head pops out of the rest of them - not that it had to go far to pop out - his eyes are piercingly green and they stare down Sou and Yuuki like a lion cub about to make his first catch.   
“OH! MORE NEW PEOPLE!!” The man practically runs over, causing all heads to turn in their direction. “I’m Haiba Lev! You can just call me Lev, though! It’s nice to meet you!!”   
Sou and Yuuki barely have time to introduce themselves before a short, fair-haired man shoves him out the way.   
“Sorry about him.. He can be a bit much!”   
“Yaku-san!!” Lev cries from the floor, “You’ve only known me for a few minutes!!”   
“That doesn’t mean you can’t be a bit much!” Said someone else in the group. Lev just laughs.    
“Anyway.” Yaku turns his attention back to Sou and Yuuki. “You two are the ones from the video, right? Inuoka and Shibayama?”   
Sou and Yuuki nod. Yaku smiles at them and shakes each of their hands.   
“Well it’s nice to finally meet you! I’m Yaku Morisuke. I was working as an intern here and got scouted myself! I’ve seen everyone getting scouted, but that’s most likely because I saw most of them at the auditions, which you were scouted before. You guys have a lot of potential! It’ll be fun to work with you.”   
Sou just nods with his mouth open. It’s just all a bit surreal; one moment he’s performing in the park with his best friend and recording videos in their college dorm and the next he’s here… not to mention they were considered enough to not have to audition!   
Yaku introduces them to the rest of the group: Yamamoto, a man with an impressive mohawk and a physique to match; Fukunaga, a quiet man with small, sparkly eyes; Kuroo, who has the most impressive bedhead that Sou has ever laid his eyes on; and Kenma, who has his hair in his face and is looking down at a PS4. Sou can feel Yuuki grabbing the back of Sou’s shirt.    
_ Is this real? I can’t believe it... _

A door on the other side of the room swings open. The man who walks through it must be around their age. He's short, and he looks fairly average compared to some people you see in showbusiness; but by now Sou knows that assuming that someone is anything like their appearance is the quickest way to shoot yourself in the foot. The man does a quick headcount of everyone in the foyer and Sou watches a little more, seeing if he can somehow figure anything out about him. He only gets the obvious. His hair is short and fair. His eyes are fairly large and almost glowing. He’s cute, Sou thinks.

“Ahh you’re all here! It’s very nice to finally meet you all!” The man smiles with his mouth, his eyes, his voice. He puts both of them at ease a little. “I’m Teshiro Tamahiko! Starting today, I’m going to be your manager! I look forward to working with all of you!”

Teshiro takes the nine of them through the door he came through, telling them about every room they passed. As Teshiro shows them the recording studio, the reality of the situation finally sinks in. Sou looks down at Yuuki who looks back at him with the same awe-filled expression.

_ They’re idols. _

Even as Teshiro shuts the studio door, Sou makes sure to look in right until the gap closes. Finally, he takes the group down a set of stairs at the end of the corridor. There, they see a door with a plaque that says “practice room”.   
“You’ll probably be spending a lot of time in here!” Teshiro says, opening the door. “This is the practice room!”    
The ten of them walk into a large room that looks almost like a gymnasium. One wall is lined with mirrors, and Sou realises that they’re in a dance studio. He looks down at Yuuki to find that he’s already squeezing his arm like he can read exactly how he’s feeling. In the middle of the practice room stand two men. One short and elderly, the other tall and considerably younger, even if he is much older than anyone in the group.   
“It’s nice to finally get all you boys together.” The old man says with a smile. “Teshiro, thank you for showing them around.” Teshiro bows his head and runs to join the two of them.   
“I believe we haven’t met everyone face to face just yet,” the younger man says. “I’m Naoi Manabu, I’m the vice president here. It’s a pleasure to be working with you all.”   
The group echo his words before the older man speaks up again.   
“My name, for those of you I haven’t personally spoken to, is Nekomata Yasufumi. I’m the president here at Nekoma Productions. I hope we shall all be successful here together.”   
Sou couldn’t believe that this was real. It all seemed too good to be true.   
“That being said...” Nekomata  comes in as if he can read Sou’s thoughts, like a chastising finger telling him not to count his chickens before they hatch. “I’d like to make sure I have the right group. Nine is an awful lot... “ Everyone freezes.    
“But you’ve already hired us!” Kuroo steps forward, almost deflated. “We got through the audition, right?”   
“That you did,” Nekomata puts his hands up, Kuroo backs off. “But I just want to make sure. I’d like the nine of you to sing to us at the end of the day. You may choose the song yourself, and you don’t have to choreograph anything. I’ll pull some chairs out for you, and I can't wait to hear what you boys come up with.”

* * *

The nine of them sit in silence. It’s so  _ so  _ strange. Most of them have known each other for an hour or two at most. Sou wants to speak up, but he just can’t find the words. 

“So…” Kuroo starts. “Anyone have any ideas?”   
Nobody says anything. Nobody can say anything.    
Kai speaks next. “He just asked for a performance… does anyone have anything they’d like to perform?”   
Even Lev, who had been practically vibrating with energy all day, was completely silent.

_ “You are, my fire.”  _ Everyone looks over at Fukunaga. He’d spoken maybe once the whole time. He looks at the group, urging someone to continue. Sou seizes his chance and continues.   
“ _ The one, desire _ …”    
“ _ Believe, _ ” Lev takes the third line, eyes lighting up like a little kitten again. “ _ When I say… _ ”    
“ _ I want it that way _ .” The three of them sing together and Yamamoto comes in with a beat; Kai’s deep, smooth voice provides a perfect bass line; Yaku and Yuuki come together to give accompaniment and harmonies. Kuroo comes to join them for the second half of the verse and all of a sudden ‘I Want It That Way’ has never sounded so good. Sou doesn’t even know what the words mean but he’s completely lost in the music that he-- no, the group-- is weaving.    
“ _ Tell me why _ !   
_ Ain’t nothing but a heartache! _ _   
_ _ Tell me why! _ _   
_ _ Ain’t nothing but a mistake…”  _ Before they can continue, Fukunaga and Kuroo change the words they’re singing, pointing at Kenma.   
“ _ Now, Number 5.” _ _   
_ _ “I never wanna hear you say…”  _ The rest of them sing before everyone goes completely silent all at once. All eyes fall on Kenma. He looks at everyone, and clears his throat.    
“You guys are… kinda weird.” Kuroo bursts into laughter.    
“Isn’t that the best way to be, Kenma-san???” Lev pops up behind him as if he had teleported. Kenma jumps out of his seat, much to everyone’s amusement.   
“Don’t do that... And if you’re going to make me do this you can all join me.” Everyone grins at each other as they come together for the final line.   
“ __ I want it that way…” 

It’s the first time Sou sees a smile on Kenma’s face.

* * *

“Really you guys are incredible!” The ten of them sit around a cramped table in an empty cafe. Teshiro gives them all a cup of tea as he talks, his face full of awe. “Fukunaga-san, the song choice was yours, right? It was a bit weird but it really worked! Where did you get your inspiration?”   
Fukunaga stares at Teshiro with a deadpan expression. “I see you’re not yet a man of culture. I’ll try to fix that.”   
Teshiro lifts his hand as if to ask a question, but seemingly decides that it’s better to just leave it.    
“I’m sorry we tricked you earlier, but the president just wanted to see the nine of you performing together under pressure. All that was going to be affected was how quickly you’d be put into concerts and promotion, but I’m sure you’ll be debuting in no time!”   
Teshiro gains several dirty looks. Nobody’s entirely happy about being lied to, even if it’s a huge weight off their chests. “Speaking of…” Teshiro continues quickly and pulls out a notebook. “The president has a name in mind for the nine of you, and if you have any issues with it you’re more than free to change it, but I quite like it myself! It really suits you. You guys are a group that can adapt to any situation. You worked almost flawlessly together having known each other less than an hour. You’re like a system. And there’s nine of you. So-!”   
Teshiro puts the notebook on the table in front of them, on the paper is one word, written in red marker pen.

_ SYSTEMIX. _   
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, System nine!”

* * *

For Sou and Yuuki, returning to their college dorm that night feels strange. In the last twenty-four hours their lives have turned upside down. The second they get in, they collapse on the sofa in a pile. They don’t say a word, they just lie there. Yuuki’s tired, he’s completely out of breath, yet there’s a smile on his face like Sou’s never seen before. Sou could swear that his eyes hold entire galaxies. His heart skips a beat. 

_ Oh. _

__   
Yuuki wraps his arms around him, and Sou feels something warm and wet on his chest. He tries to pull back to see what’s wrong but Yuuki just pulls him closer.    
“It’s okay, Sou. I’m just so happy!” Yuuki pulls back, and Sou wipes the tears away from his eyes. Even if they’re happy tears he never wants Yuuki to cry. He tells Yuuki as much, and he laughs. Sou's breath catches in his throat.

_ Oh no. _

“Thank you so much, Sou. I’m so happy that I can do all of this with my best friend! My dreams are coming true, and you’re right there with me! That makes me so happy…” Yuuki smiles at Sou again and his heart squeezes. Some teardrops have gotten into his hair and it lays flat on his cheek. He needs a haircut, but Sou knows he's too stubborn to get one.   
“Of course! I’d never ever do it if I couldn’t do it with my best friend!” Sou has to reply, he has to say something to fight the flush coming to his cheeks.

_ Oh no oh no oh no oh no… _

“Thank you so much, Sou… I’m so glad you’re here.” Yuuki kisses Sou on the forehead before climbing off the sofa and walking around the back of it. Sou swears he's about to explode. “I think I should get some sleep now. And you should too!” He gives Sou one more smile and all of a sudden Sou’s heart beats in ways he didn’t know it could before. “Goodnight!”

_ OH NO. _

Sou doesn’t sleep that night. Or the next. Or the next.


	3. TRACK 3: ＣＩＲＣＵＬＡＴＩＯＮ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know where i said i'd make this more about the idols than the gay? I failed horrendously. I am a gay disaster.

A month of street performances, social media obsessing, photo shoots, and putting SYSTEMIX out into the world seems to fly by. Sou always thinks that his world has finally finished flipping upside down, but then he gets recognised on the street! The whole group does! This unlikely mishmash of 90’s and electronica and swing and pop and rock and indie and anything you can imagine just _works_. Sou loves to sing and dance with everyone: Kuroo is an excellent leader, he’s great at creating a fantasy and motivating everyone to work hard; Kenma, despite everything, has the most incredible voice and makes a phenomenal centre, even if he doesn’t believe it; Kai’s voice harmonises perfectly with everyone, and his dancing keeps everyone in time - he’s the perfect balancer; Yaku and Lev bring incredible energy to the group, Yaku with an extreme amount of polish and Lev with considerably less but it still works; Fukunaga isn’t noticed straight away, but like Kai he’s a fantastic all-rounder; Yamamoto is one you notice straight away, his voice is completely unique and you can feel fire in his dance; and then there’s Yuuki. Yuuki makes you feel how he feels when he performs, his expressiveness pulls you right in. Sou feels like the luckiest person alive to perform with these people.

By the time SYSTEMIX’s first concert comes around it seems like it’s all been a blur.

Sou looks at himself in the mirror in his costume. His hair’s slicked up into its typical spikes, and his oversized jacket and shoes make him look slim and _cool_ . The jacket flows when he moves, accentuating his dancing. The colours make him smile, and he hopes he can make the fans smile too. Yuuki comes to meet him, and Sou can’t help but stare at him. Seeing his best friend watching his dreams come true is the most magical thing for him. That’s what he tells himself. It’s definitely not the way he’s dressed up and the glow in his smile that’s making his heart beat like this.  
He puts his hands on Yuuki’s shoulder and squeezes a little before planting a quick kiss on his forehead, just like Yuuki did that first night. 

As the two of them make their way to find the others, they meet a woman, very tall, with long platinum blonde hair and different coloured eyes. She makes a little heart shape with her fingers and Sou immediately recognises her as Alisa from Nekoma Productions’ female idol group, HEART. Then Sou looks a little to her left, and find that she looks… uncannily like Lev…  
“You’re Alisa-san, right? From HEART?” Sou holds out his hand for her to shake, and she takes it.  
“That I am! I’m terribly sorry that we couldn’t meet you earlier! The girls and I just got back from touring and I should be asleep right now but I _had_ to see Lyovochka’s first proper show!”

“Leo-- what?”  
Alisa laughs, and it sounds so different than it does on TV. Sou reminds himself yet again that this is his life now. “Lyovochka~! It’s my pet name for Lev! He’s my baby brother, you know! And we’re both half-Russian!”  
Both Sou and Yuuki look completely stunned. Sou feels like he should have figured this out earlier. Alisa laughs even more.  
“Don’t worry! Loads of people find it hard to believe that we’re related! I don’t know why though, Lyovochka’s so talented! He really has the music gene! Anyway. I’m not the only sibling here in HEART! Tora-kun’s little sister is one of my bandmates! You can expect to see a lot of us! Especially next week! I’ll be helping you all move in to your dorm! It’s all so exciting!”  
Sou doesn’t really know where to start with all the questions he has.  
“T--” Yuuki starts, but he’s interrupted before he can open his mouth fully.  
“Yamamoto-kun!”  
Before anyone can say anything else, Teshiro pops his head round the corner and practically drags them to the stage. Had they really been talking that long? Alisa gives them a cheery wave and wishes them the best of luck before they find themselves behind the curtain with the rest of the group. Everyone goes through some last minute checks before Kuroo gathers everyone into a huddle.  
_“We are the System, we must flow smoothly. Harmonise, connect, so that the System can work at maximum potential! Let’s blow them all away tonight!”_

Sou can barely pick out what happens from one thing to the next, he’s running on adrenaline and he loves it. He grips Yuuki’s hand before they go on stage, and the nine of them stand together. Thankfully, the venue isn’t empty. There’s at least a hundred people there. One hundred people came to see a group that Sou is a part of.  
“Thank you all for coming out tonight!” Kuroo addresses the crowd. They’re cheering, all of them cheering for _them_ . “We are SYSTEMIX! Please enjoy our show!”  
And with that the music starts, the lights change, and Sou’s body just starts moving on its own. They’ve spent so long rehearsing for this, put everything on the line for this.

To see it pay off like this is incredible.

Everyone’s specialties, everyone’s style and personality, meld together to create a monster. Sou looks into the crowd and from the smiles on their faces they love it. Sou looks around at his fellow members while he sings, and they’re all just as high as he is. He looks over at Yuuki, and the way he moves just captivates him. His facial expression and style of singing draws him in and it’s even more than any other time. Sou knows that this is Yuuki at his peak and it fills his soul. As the show goes on, as the lights flash and the music pounds and his feet carve out the rhythm that his voice wraps itself around Sou knows that this is him at his peak too.

Sou wonders if there's any coming down from feeling like this.

* * *

The dorm building isn't huge, but it's modern and it's _theirs_. It takes all of Sou's effort not to run around and do cartwheels. Lev drops the boxes in his arms and Alisa, who's there as promised, practically trips over herself to try and save them. Yaku rolls his eyes and hisses at Lev.  
"Don't make your sister do these things!"  
Yamamoto is yelling. Fukunaga is watching everything burn. Kuroo and Kai are looking increasingly worried at Kenma who looks like the personification of disdain. Yuuki looks like he's halfway between laughing and crying.  
Little by little, they get all of their belongings inside and take a look around. There's nine bedrooms, a large shared bathroom and a small ensuite in each bedroom. there's a living room with more than enough space for them all to sit on an evening, and before Sou can look to the balcony Teshiro asks him for help unpacking in the kitchen. 

Every time Lev is given a plate he finds a new and inventive way to break it. Sou's actually kind of impressed and soon starts applauding each feat of clumsiness. Alisa starts cheering him on, and before anyone knows it Lev's shattered an entire box of plates. It only takes about ten minutes for Lev, Sou and Alisa to be banned from touching anything fragile. As Sou hangs his head in shame leaving the kitchen, he can see Yuuki laughing behind his hand; evidently scared that Yaku will notice and make him leave too. After that fiasco, Sou decides to help Kuroo and Kai scrub and organise the bathroom.  
“Ah! Inuoka!” Kuroo perks up as Sou walks into the room. “You haven’t seen Kenma, have you?” Sou tries to think of any time where he’s seen Kenma, but the last memory he has of him is about half a second before Teshiro said the word “cleaning”.

The cleaning is therapeutic work, and it gets his mind off of everything that’s going on in his heart and his head. It’s like dancing, or a show, or the first time SYSTEMIX sang together; he forgets everything and loses himself in the moment. Before too long, the bathroom is sparkling and everyone’s belongings have been unpacked. Alisa says a tearful see you later to Lev and cheerfully waves everyone else off. Sou is exhausted, and realises that he hasn’t spoken to Yuuki in a while. He finds him stood on the balcony with a cup of tea. The sun’s just starting to set, and Sou could just stare forever. It’s the most Yuuki thing he could possibly think of and he _loves_ it. He loves Yuuki, and that’s been difficult to come around to, but he loves him more than he could ever have imagined. It hurts. It scares him.

“It’s been quite a week, huh?” He places a gentle hand on Yuuki’s back, and Yuuki looks up at him and laughs.  
“It sure has.”  
“Hey! Why are you laughing?” Sou gets Yuuki in a gentle headlock and ruffles his hair.  
“Nothing! I’ve just missed spending time with you.” Sou admits defeat, letting go. “I love being in the group, but I do miss things being just us.” Every one of Sou’s internal organs twists. He starts to form a reply in his head when he hears a knock at the balcony entrance. Yuuki moves away almost instantly and Sou’s organs stop in place.  
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Kai walks up and joins them. “The sunset is beautiful tonight, and I wanted to take a look for myself.”  
“Not at all!” Sou steps aside and lets Kai step up to the balcony’s edge. Kai stands in between them and admires the view.

“Ah, it certainly is beautiful… Inuoka-kun, would you mind if I had a word with you alone?”  
“Of course not! Yuuki you don’t mind, do you?”  
“Not at all!” Yuuki says with a polite smile. Sou gets an odd feeling that something isn’t right with it. “I think I’d like to get some more tea, so I should go in anyway.”

And with that, he turns on his heels and leaves the two of them, shutting the door behind him.

“You two sure are close, huh?” Kai’s eyes follow Yuuki’s back as he heads back inside.  
“Of course! We’ve been best friends all our lives!” Sou can’t help but beam as he thinks about their childhood. “Yuuki moved to my street when we were in primary school. My parents wanted me to do something other than run or watch this one documentary we had about dogs so I went off to a playdate with him. Yuuki’s family had a piano and Yuuki showed me how he played it. He’s always loved music and idols. When you’re around someone like that you get sucked in, right?” Sou looks over at Kai who smiles patiently, the honey in his expression easing the words out of him. “I guess we both got sucked into each others’ lives… I stopped running quite as much and started dancing all the time. Yuuki would sing and play as I danced, and then we started singing together. He’s been working on this one song since the day we met. I think it’s beautiful, but he refuses to say it’s finished.” Sou grips the balcony wall and looks at the colours of the sky. There’s a thousand different shades melting together. It reminds him of that song… Sou’s stomach twists. _Has Kai-san noticed something? Is he going to point it out?_   
Kai merely keeps his smile. “That must be nice for you. Doing this together?”  
Sou grins and nods so much he gets dizzy. Kai laughs. It’s so soothing, and Sou feels like he can let this slip to him. He feels like he can tell him about this, but he’s still scared. And that scares him even more.  
“It’s wonderful…” He admits, but his brain catches up with his heart and he tries to cover his tracks. “I hope that you can become super close to the rest of the group so you can feel this too!”  
Kai laughs harder this time. “I don’t think I’ll find myself getting quite that close, but i suppose that would be nice.” He puts a hand on Sou’s shoulder, and Sou realises that this isn’t just friendly. This is an I know.  
“Kai-san I can explain… Nothing’s going to happen I promise. I won’t say a word to anyone else so please do the sa--”  
“You don’t need to explain anything.” Sou’s heart stops in his chest. “If something happens, there’s nothing wrong with that.”  
“But.. the rules…”  
Kai takes his hand off of Sou’s shoulder and looks back out from the balcony. The setting sun shines on his face and the shadows it casts remind Sou that he’s in the presence of near-superhumans.  
“Who ever made history by following the rules?” Kai shoots Sou another smile, and Sou feels the most confident he ever has. He opens his mouth to thank Kai when the balcony door bursts open and Lev flies through.  
“You guys need to come through now!! This is HUGE!!!” before either of them can ask, Lev trips to turn round and runs back inside.

When the two of them reach the living room, everyone’s already there crowded around Teshiro who looks a little pale.  
“Is everything okay, Teshiro-kun?” Kai asks. Teshiro takes a moment to breathe.  
“We’ve had a call from Seijou Pro… One of their idols saw our concert. ROYALS want us to open for them!”

**END OF PART ONE**


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